Locals leave BoE spoiled for choice

Just when the jobs market was looking a little peaky, the British government put a bit of zing back in the Help Wanted columns on Friday with a modest message which we can title “Desperately Seeking Mervyn".

That would be Sir
Mervyn King
. He’s retiring next year, leaving the government short one governor for the Bank of England. Any takers to be Merv 2?

Forget the online classifieds. We’re talking a major display ad in the print version of The Economist, with five pithy paragraphs describing the X Factor the auditioners are looking for.

This doesn’t appear to include interpersonal skills, though some familiarity with central banks is thought to be a plus. It doesn’t actually say so, but naturally we assume they will want an Australian.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s
Glenn Stevens
comes to mind, particularly with his experience printing banknotes (he has always given his subordinates the credit for this). Then there is
Wayne Swan
; the World’s Best Treasurer already has a full-time job bludgeoning West Australian mining entrepreneurs, but he might find his appointment schedule freeing up around next July, when the BoE job is due to start.

The position is described as “the Queen’s appointment", which means Queensland’s financial maestro
Campbell Newman
picked a bad week to have a mud wrestling match over royalty payments.

Unconventional NSW Premier
Barry O’Farrell
, an habitué of the rail corridors of power, is believed to favour splitting the bank in two, a receipts bank and a payouts bank.

But perhaps the net is being spread too narrowly. Two Australian miners stand out for their experience in talking to bankers –
Andrew Forrest
at Fortescue Metals (his message to the market about his current bank debt discussions: Not Drowning, Waiving); and
Nathan Tinkler
.

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The image of Our Nathan let loose on the Bank of England is a pleasing one, though he may have other calls on his time. Perhaps then he could spare one of his financial advisers – someone like
Peter Costello
, whose sterling, unsung work for the Tink has met with splendid results.

It’s safe to assume the world’s second best treasurer has no intention of challenging Sir Merv, though he may accept being drafted for the post.